27. Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Blaire
W ork is bizarre without the Hayes brothers running the place. Everything operates smoothly, but I find myself looking for Dallas even though I know I won’t find him. After a long day of tours and tastings, I collapse on my futon once I’m home. With Dallas gone, I decide to throw all of my focus into the proposal for changing up the dynamic of the events department of the distillery. I’m positive that the changes could not only benefit the company, but also give Dallas the peace he loves while on the property. Plus, I love creating events that give people their happily ever after much more than I do giving tours.
I work on restructuring what I’ve already created, putting less focus on the day-to-day tours and more on being a large-scale event venue with a more defined schedule. The research for financial projections is taking a little longer than I had hoped, but the rest of it starts to come together, which gets me excited. Maybe this gesture can bridge the final gap between Dallas and me. Whether I’m personally to blame or not, I know I’m the physical representation of the changes made to the distillery that disturbed his peace. Now that I understand him, I want to give him this. Everyone deserves peace, and I’m starting to accept that he brings me mine.
Losing track of time, I close my laptop after my stomach’s protests for hunger get too loud to ignore, when my phone chimes with an incoming text message. Anticipating it being Dallas, I quickly snatch it off my desk to look at the notification. I’ve only heard from him once, a text last night saying that he hopes I’m sleeping well.
Ivy:
Hey Blaire, Kinsey and I are having a girls’ night tonight while the guys are away. Want to go out with us? She’s dragging me out and to be her DD and I’d love the backup. I hate going out.
Ivy:
She wants to let loose while her “overprotective, alpha brothers are fucking off” *laugh emoji*
Me:
That sounds great. I’m assuming The Night Owl?
Ivy:
Unfortunately. But it should be fun. 7 p.m.
Me:
lol! Meet you there!
Excited that I won’t be spending another night alone, I pack up my stuff and head back to the apartment to get ready for a girls’ night—something I haven’t really had before. Up until I moved to Aspen Ridge, I’ve stayed reclusive. It’s hard for me to put my walls down long enough to get close to people. But I feel at home in AR and want nothing more than to stay here and make it my forever home.
Stripping out of my office clothes, I dig through my little closet to find something cute enough to wear out with Ivy and Kinsey. There’s a lingering pressure for them to like me, wanting their approval because I’m sleeping with their family member. Which sounds as crazy as it is. Maybe if Dallas and I decide to come out to everyone, they will be supportive of it because they like me.
I reach for my favorite pair of dark denim jeans that have always made me feel confident. They cling to my shapely bottom half, accentuating every curve that I love so much. I pull on a cream boatneck sweater, my favorite brown booties, big yellow gold hoop earrings, and attempt to tame my hair. The winter air has been kind to me, but once summer arrives it will be a whole different story. Any amount of humidity will wreak havoc on my already wild locks. After I douse it with a hearty spray of dry shampoo and freshen up my makeup, I grab my purse, coat, and lock up, heading down the stairs toward The Night Owl.
“Where do you think you’re goin’?” Reid’s voice echoes through the small alley I’m walking through between our building and the one next to us on Main Street. A quick burst of fear rushes through me before I register the voice’s owner. I look back to find the tattooed beast walking behind me. He’s wearing a pair of black jeans, brown boots that lace up the front, a tight white shirt, and a brown jacket. His tattoos peek out over his clothes on every inch of exposed skin, minus his face. His hair is down, slightly wet like he has showered recently, and hanging loosely.
“Out, creeper. Where are you going? It’s frowned upon to stalk unsuspecting girls in a dark alley. Don’t you know better?” I say jokingly. His steps falter and I cock my head to the side to study him.
“I wouldn’t hurt you, B.” His voice is laced with hurt and concern.
“Reid, I was just making a joke, of course I know you’d never hurt me. Or anyone for that matter.”
He nods in understanding before joining me, and together we walk out of the alley and onto the cobblestone sidewalk of downtown Aspen Ridge. I pull my thick coat closer, the breeze chilling me to my bones.
“I’m heading to girls’ night at the bar with Ivy and Kinsey. Want to crash it?”
He gives me a devilish smile and loops his arm in mine, pulling me along with him in the direction of The Night Owl. Reid has to be the most genuine, sweetest man I’ve ever met in my life, and how he hasn’t been snatched up is beyond me. He’s going to make someone extremely happy someday.
After a short walk, we arrive at our destination and Reid opens the door for me, the warm heat blasting my face, and I immediately want my coat off of my body. Shrugging out of it, I look around the room until I find the girls sitting in a booth in front of a big window at the back of the bar.
“Look who I found, mind if he joins us?”
“Never! He’s an honorary girls’ night attendee,” Ivy says as Reid takes a seat next to her in the booth. I slide in next to Kinsey, whose face is a little flushed, and who hasn’t said a word yet, her eyes darting around nervously.
“Hey, everything okay?” I whisper to her.
“Uhm, yeah, why wouldn’t it be? Of course everything is okay.”
“Just making sure. You look a little flustered.”
“Oh, it’s just warm in here. I’m good. Glad you could make it.”
“Thanks for inviting me. It’s been forever since I had a girls’ night.”
And by forever, I mean forever. As in, not ever.
“What can I get you lovely ladies to drink?” Reid asks.
“Water for me.”
“Midori sour sounds good tonight,” Kinsey says, and I agree.
“Same for me. You’re the best.”
Reid excuses himself to head to the bar and order drinks for everyone while the three of us check in with each other.
“How’s pregnancy?” I ask Ivy.
“It was rough at first but now that the all-day sickness has subsided I’m loving it.”
“Thank god for that since Sawyer has plans to breed you like a show horse. Which is gross by the way, and he should totally stop announcing it,” Kinsey deadpans, and I can’t help but toss my head back in a deep laugh.
“You’re not wrong though,” Ivy says through laughs.
“How’s everything with you, Blaire? I haven’t really seen you since New Year’s Eve.”
“Oh, everything has been great,” I say, trying not to blush when all the sex I’ve been having with Dallas flashes through my head, “just been so busy with work. I have several bookings for weddings in the spring that I’m planning for, on top of the day-to-day. I really love it though. Just ready to not do tours in the winter. It’s freaking cold, and that’s saying something because I’m a winter girl! I definitely didn’t expect so many crazies to want to visit in the winter months, so I’ve been surprised!”
“People are wacky about what they’re willing to do. I think the distillery has been so elusive for so long that people are eager to see behind the gates, you know?”
“That’s true. Kinsey, you never wanted to work there? All the boys seem so sure that working in some aspect of the business was inevitable for them. How’d you skip out on it?” I ask as Reid sets down a tray of drinks in front of us and takes his seat next to Ivy.
“That was never in the cards for me. It’s so hard being the baby, plus the only girl? Forget it. I needed to break away from them and have some autonomy beyond being a Hayes—and Sawyer, Dallas, Liam, or Carter’s baby sister. It gives me the ick. I’m not a baby and it would be so nice to be seen as a woman who’s independent from her family. Does that make sense?”
“Girl, you are preaching to the choir. I am the poster child of breaking away from parental expectations and building the life that you want. I’m all for you chasing after what makes you happy. Just don’t waste years like I did,” Ivy tells her, and I silently agree because nothing has ever been truer.
“On that note, let’s cheers!” Kinsey picks up her pretty emerald drink and I do the same, clinking it together with Ivy’s water, and Reid’s soda.
“To living the life you want!” Kinsey yells.
“Cheers!”
I take a sip, the alcohol going down smooth, and quickly find my new favorite drink.
“No alcohol for you, Drogo?”
“Don’t drink.”
“What? How did I not know this?” Ivy asks him.
“’Cause you’ve been knocked up since a month after I met you.”
“Okay, that’s fair.”
The four of us spend the next hour talking and laughing like old friends and it fills me with so much happiness. I settle into the comfort of being out with people who genuinely want to be with me, and let myself relax. I have another Midori sour, feeling the alcohol thrum through my bloodstream, and know it’s time for some water. Kinsey accompanies me to the bar where she orders four b-52 shots.
“Don’t look now, Blaire, but a certain Cole Barnes is here, and he hasn’t taken his eyes off you.”
Fuck. Cole texted me a few weeks ago asking if he could take me out again but I’ve been so busy I completely forgot to respond. Feeling somewhat horrible, my mood dampens slightly.
“He is eye fucking the shit out of you. You sure you don’t want to hook up with him again? He’s hot. So is his friend.”
“We never hooked up and I’m for sure good on that front,” I tell her.
Kinsey slams back one of her shots just as Cole and his friend join us at the bar. His hand settles on my lower back in a move of confidence, like he’s familiar with me in a way that he actually isn’t. I turn out of his touch, it feeling all wrong on me. Thankfully, Dallas isn’t here because I don’t think he would stand idly by and allow it to happen, present company be damned.
“Hey, pretty lady, haven’t seen you in a bit, how ya been?”
“Hi, Cole. I’m really well. So busy with the pressure of work but things are great.”
“Who’s your friend, Coley?”
“Haven’t been called that in decades, Kinsey, let’s keep it that way, yeah? This is my college buddy, Theo.”
“Hi, Theo, I’m Kinsey,” she says as she sticks out her hand in his direction.
“Pleasure to meet you, Kinsey. How about a drink?”
“Happily.”
Theo moves around Cole and me to stand next to Kinsey at the bar, ordering a drink, and I suddenly feel like a fish out of water. Kinsey slams back another shot that’s in front of her, and I snatch the remaining two to keep her from taking all of them. I hand one to Cole, because what else am I supposed to do with it?
“Cheers,” I say as I toss back the coffee-flavored shot.
Cole looks at me quizzically for a moment before picking up the shot and drinking it down.
Knowing I can’t leave Kinsey alone with this guy, I stand here awkwardly and attempt to make small talk with Cole while Kinsey flirts with his friend.
“So, Coley, huh? How’d you get that nickname?”
“Dallas, actually. Long time ago. Speaking of, I don’t see him anywhere,” he says as he looks around the bar.
“Why would he be here?”
Cole leans in and whispers in my ear sending a chill down my spine. Not the good kind.
“I think we both know why; you don’t need to play games.”
“Excuse me?”
He pulls back from me and smiles, licking his lips and letting his eyes trace over my body. I suddenly feel extremely uncomfortable, and as Kinsey takes another shot, Theo gets more and more handsy with her. The hair on my arms stands on end and I start to panic, the situation slowly getting out of control. The alcohol and anxiety mix together, buzzing between my ears as I try to calm myself down.
When I overhear Theo ask Kinsey if she wants to “get out of here” and he takes her hand, I look around frantically to find Reid, his eyes already focused on the situation. Theo pulls Kinsey behind him, stepping away from me, and I move to stand in front of them.
“Hey, you. You seem like you’re ready to go home. Want to crash at my place?” I ask her.
She gives me a big, goofy smile as she slurs her next words, “I’m going to go back with Theo.” She leans in really close to me, whispering in a not-so-whisper, “It’s time I get laid, I want this shit over with.”
Before I know what’s happening, Reid steps between us, bending down practically to his knees and scooping Kinsey up over his shoulder. She squeals loudly, drawing the attention of everyone in the bar.
“Oh, no you don’t. Fuck that, Kins. You think I’m going to let you go home with some out-of-town stranger? Not fucking happening.”
“Screw you, Reid! Put me down!”
“Not a chance, sweetheart. You want to get me killed? Your brothers will have my ass six feet under by lunch tomorrow without breaking a sweat. Time to go home, alone .”
“You’re just like my stupid overbearing brothers, you dick! Just let me get it over with!”
I quickly grab her purse and coat and follow them outside to give him her things, catching the tail end of their conversation. Kinsey is back on her feet, Reid’s hands on both sides of her face as he crouches down to face her. She looks like a tiny doll in his massive hold. Their size difference is drastic.
“Your virginity is fucking precious, sweetheart. Don’t you dare just give that shit away. You’re trashed, and that’s not when we make huge decisions like this. It’s time to go back to Ivy’s.”
It’s hard not to feel like I’m intruding on an intimate moment, but that’s just Reid. He has the biggest heart in the world and cares so deeply about everyone. I know he’d do the same for any of us. I don’t think he was cut out for this harsh world, being such an empath.
“Hey, here’s her coat, she’s going to freeze. Ivy was in the bathroom, but I’ll go back in and grab her.”
“Thanks, B. I’ll take them back to Ivy and Sawyer’s. Come with us and I’ll drop you off after.”
“I’m fine, it’s just a few blocks. I can hold my own, I promise.”
“I don’t like that, B.”
“I’ll text you as soon as I’m inside and the door is locked.”
I jog back into The Night Owl and find Ivy putting on her coat.
“Kinsey?”
“Yep. Reid saved the day. He’s really a saint.”
“We’re entirely too lucky to have him in our lives, honestly. I get why he’s Sawyer’s best friend.”
“I couldn’t agree more. He’s going to bring you two home, I’m going to walk since I’m just up the road a bit.”
She looks at me for a moment with confusion and I realize that no one but Reid and Dallas know where I live. Surely it wouldn’t be too abnormal to share an apartment downtown with my nonexistent grandparents, right? Luckily, she doesn’t press for answers, and we walk outside to Reid’s truck, Cole and Theo not saying a word to us. I say my goodbyes and check my surroundings before heading down the sidewalk in the direction of my little apartment.
Once I’m back in my studio, I strip from my clothes and pull on the shirt Dallas left me that smells so much like him, all woodsy and masculine. It’s now that my heart starts to pang for him, my mind no longer occupied, left idle to get lost in my thoughts. After being alone for twenty-seven years, it’s shocking how quickly I’ve fallen into a rhythm with him. I should be so used to operating solo that his absence shouldn’t be that noticeable. But I miss him.
Last night was okay because we don’t spend every night together anyway, but after not seeing him for two days? I wish he was here. A chime rings out from my phone next to me and I nearly jump out of my skin as I reach for it.
Dallas:
I miss yur mouth
It’s as if I summoned him. I laugh at the typos and quickly type back even though the three little dots bubble at the bottom.
Me:
Are you drunk?
Dallas:
Want u to suck mee off bsby
Dallas:
Very
Dallas:
wwant you on yor knees
He’s trashed. I’ve never seen him this way, and I laugh silently to myself, wishing I could get a glimpse of drunk Dallas in person. I get comfortable under my blankets, holding my phone in front of my face, the glow the only light in the room.
Me:
Yeah? What else do you want?
Dallas:
I jsu want to hldyou.
Me:
You just want to hold me?
Dallas:
ya
Dallas:
watch u sleep
My heart tumbles in my chest, throbbing painfully against my ribcage. This man has the biggest heart, even when he’s drunk at two a.m.
Me:
I wish you were here, too
My phone rings with an incoming FaceTime call and I answer it, a smile all over my face.
“Hi.”
“Yoursobeautiful.”
“You’re so drunk.”
“I am. Gotta be quiet. Brothers are crashed out hard though. Show me that pussy, baby.”
A breath rushes from my lips.
“Dallas . . .”
“Princess, don’t make me repeat myself,” he slurs. I set the phone down and shimmy out of my panties, pulling the blankets back off me. “Show me what I love.”
I spread my legs and move the phone between them so that he can see.
“Spread wide, baby girl.”
I do as he says, spreading my legs wider and he moans loudly.
I look down my body, seeing his face that’s lit up by the light of his phone. His eyes are glassed over, that look of desire written all over his features.
“Touch yourself. I am. I want to get off watching you touch yourself.”
I stay quiet, moving my free hand between my legs and slipping my fingers through my center, finding myself already wet. I dip into my core, gathering up the wetness there and moving up to circle my clit.
“That’s it, baby, rub that clit.” He’s breathing just as hard as I am, his camera shaking, and I know it’s because he’s jerking himself off, which turns me on further. Thinking about his hand rubbing up and down on that thick, pierced cock like I’ve seen him do before. I press down harder on that sweet spot between my legs, a moan releasing from my lips.
“Dallas, I want you here.”
“I know, my princess. I want to make you come all over my face, wanna lick up all that sweet cum.”
“Oh fuck, Dallas.” I rub faster, my hips bucking, chasing the impending orgasm.
“That’s my good fuckin’ girl. Come for me.”
I combust, my orgasm swirling through my body, waves of pleasure pulsing through me.
“Baby, I’m coming, fuck.” His moans fuel me, pushing me to a new height, flying high, and loving every second of the bliss.
My orgasm ebbs, and I pull my phone back up to my face.
“I wasn’t expecting that,” I confess. “But I’m not complaining.”
He looks at me happily loopy and exhausted, his eyes heavy.
“I’ll see you tomorrow. Sleep well, princess. Thank you.”
“See you tomorrow.”
We hang up and my body aches to be wrapped up in the safety of his big arms. Within a few moments, sleep claims me too.
I curl up into a ball, holding my backpack close as I try to stay as small as possible. I huddle closer to the plastic panel on the side of the trailer. Mr. Cain searches everywhere for me.
His footsteps crunch on the gravel driveway. He’s been looking for me for a while, and I know the longer I hide, the worse the punishment will be. He expected me home after school today. I hate Wednesdays and being home so much earlier than everyone else. Once he figured out my schedule, his torment shifted from only at night to Wednesday afternoons. If I can just hide long enough the other kids will get home. He never tries to touch me when others are home and awake.
“I know you’re out here, you little whore. Come give Daddy what he wants.”
Bile turns in my stomach, and I do everything I can to keep it down. I want to take a razor blade to my skin, peel off everywhere he’s defiled and touched. I hate him. I hate what he’s taken from me. What he’s stolen and claimed as his own.
His footsteps crunch closer and I start to panic, caught between fight and flight again, stuck frozen in the in-between, when his hand reaches out and grabs a fistful of my hair. My hands reach up and cover his, trying to break him free as I’m dragged out of my hiding spot and across the rocky gravel.
“Bad girl, Blaire. It’s not nice to hide from your daddy when he needs something from you. Time to pay your dues.”
He yanks me harder, and I bite my lip to stifle the scream that wants to escape me. I know that if I bring attention to us, it will only make it worse. Even if someone heard me, even if they saw, no one here in this shitty trailer park would do a thing to stop it. I struggle to gain my footing, trying to stand and walk, but his grip is too hard, my hair ripping brutally from my head.
My body thumps hard on each of the crumbling wooden steps as he drags me up them. The door is pushed open and I’m thrown through it. I feel the moment a handful of hair is ripped from my scalp. A scream rips from my throat, and I instantly regret it as his booted foot connects with my stomach.
“You stupid girl. You’ll never learn. Don’t worry. Daddy’s here to teach you a lesson.”
He climbs on top of me, pinning me down and shoving the side of my face into the cat-piss-stained carpet. I dry heave, gasping for air and gagging, my stomach trying to purge something that’s not there due to the lack of food.
He leans down, his greasy, acne-scarred face rubbing back and forth over my cheek as he smells me, licking up the side of my face. I try to push myself further into the floor, the alternative worse than whatever else has soaked into the threadbare carpet. My eyes squeeze shut, bracing for what’s to come and going to the place that keeps me safe. Somewhere far from this hell. Somewhere with someone who loves me and chases all the evil away.
“FUCK!” I jerk from my sleep, sitting up straight, nausea rolling through me. I place my hand over my heart and take a few deep breaths, calming myself down. He can’t hurt me anymore, I remind myself. His face in the crowd of people visiting the distillery flashes behind my eyes.
After convincing myself that I’ve seen Andrew in Aspen Ridge, and now another nightmare, I open up my laptop and do the one thing I’ve been avoiding out of fear. I pull up the Washington State Department of Corrections website and enter the information for an incarcerated data search, needing to know for sure whether or not he’s still locked up. His information loads and my heart plummets into my stomach, my mouth dropping open as nerves hold me hostage.
Released.
He’s out.
Grabbing my phone, I call Dallas. I wait while the call is connected, but then it goes straight to voicemail. I end the call without leaving a message. My heart sinks further, stomach acid churning and bile rising. I run to the bathroom and flip up the lid, emptying the contents of my stomach into the toilet.
Laying terrified and exhausted on my tiled bathroom floor, I don’t let myself cry this time. I know Dallas would have answered if he hadn’t passed out drunk and I can’t blame him for that. But part of my heart hurts that I can’t hear his voice when it’s all I want in this moment.
I pick myself up off the floor and rinse out my mouth before brushing my teeth. Crawling into bed on shaking limbs, I cover myself the way I always do, buried heavily under blankets, cocooning them around me and letting sleep take me, knowing full well what will haunt me once it does.